How can women leading companies going through menopause get their career sparkle back?

As women leaders in business, we often have to deal with a lot of extra challenges that male leaders don’t have to face. One of these challenges is the fact that our hormones start to change as we move through menopause. This can often cause us to lose our sparkle when it comes to our careers. In this blog post, I will discuss how female founders and women leading companies can maintain their career sparkle during menopause. And how I regained my career sparkle too.

At times I wanted to pause my career.
I'm not going to pretend that my journey as a female founder in early surgical menopause has been all sequins and sparkle. It's 8 years ago this month since I had a total abdominal hysterectomy and everything changed from that moment on.

After an award-winning and illustrious career as a female founder, I definitely felt the urge to pause. I knew I didn't want to but I was searching for a professional solution that really understood the unique challenges of managing menopause and leading a company. 

I wanted to learn how to keep well and keep my career, plus the business relied on me and throwing in the towel wasn't an option for me. Women leaders of businesses, female founders of start-up's and female entrepreneurs of scale-up's like myself really do have unique challenges managing menopause and leading companies.
 
So I went searching and found nothing. I was searching for a professional solution and a set of tools that that would allow me to continue developing my businesses as well learning what it would take to navigate menopause successfully. 

Women leaders need a specific set of skills to give equip them with quick and effective transition tools and nothing was on the market to help this demographic increase its career health.  In fact, the narrative was to accept a contracting career. Sound familiar?

What do women leaders need?
It's absolutely essential for women leading businesses at the menopausal age to know they can maintain their career sparkle and deal with the unique challenges of leading a business.  And it is possible to not just retain a job, but also reinvent the one you have, or start something new.

Its also essential to be surrounded by like minded women as you move through menopause too.  Women who know the unique demands of leading companies and managing menopause.  And it can be hard for high profile female leaders to speak out about their struggles.  

The age of menopause is the most successful time of life for female founders
I now have a thriving female founders mastermind within The Menopause Maze community too. These are not just women who lead currently lead companies but women execs who've decided that they want to start and scale their own enterprises in mid-life. 

Through their exclusive membership in The Menopause Maze community I help them prepare for funding rounds and scale, whilst introducing them to our international network of VC & PE investors.  These are the women who want to monetise their book of contacts and realise that menopause is a real moment of departure for them and the start of an exciting new career.

One of my absolute heroine's Trinny Woodall has shown it can be done.  Trinny started her cosmetics and skincare empire at 54yrears of age.  She's now sitting on a £250m cosmetics empire that is growing every day.

It's the perfect time to start a business moving through menopause.
At this time of life you have amazing contacts, a great client base, you can advocate for yourself and many women are also have more financial freedom.

So it's critical that menopausal women define the career outcomes they want. 
Otherwise their employer will define it for them, and for many menopausal women in the workplace the only career conversation presented to them is retirmenent. 

That's why I am passionate about coaching women on how to ensure there is NOPAUSE™ to their careers, but also how they can reach maintain, maximise or move on into completely new careers as they move through menopause.

But employers need huge amounts of help too. 
Only 18% of companies globally are providing any form of menopause related benefits and in a recent survey we undertook of over 3,000 women 78% said that they would highly value an exec menopause career coach as part of their employer benefits.

And that's why we also created our award-winning Menopause Maze method for employers.  This helps HR and wellbeing professionals to internally ensure that their top female talent can keep their careers and employers can retain their talent.

You can learn more about how we help employers here.

So if you're a female founder or a woman leading a team or business leader who is feeling that your sparkle may be starting to fade due to menopause, don’t let it become a career-defining moment.

So what's the solution?

I created the solution. 

I researched and developed a proven method to help women leaders ensure that they did not have to pause their careers in menopause.  And so I launched NOPAUSE™- an evidence based career solution for executive, high performing women and female founders to provide that very thing that I was searching for.  A total set of tools that that equips women to ensure that there is NOPAUSE™ to their careers in menopause.

For 8 years now, I have been proudly known as The Menopause Career Coach™: helping high performing, high profile women and female founders reach new heights with a fast track coaching programme tailored around six core elements required for continuing career and business success beyond menopause age. 

And as part of the NOPAUSE™ programme I set up and exclusive community of like minded female founders and women business leaders dealing with the unique challenges of leading companies and managing menopause.

My mission as The Menopause Career Coach™ is to help you stay in the game, especially when you feel like you want to pause, and help you navigate the menopause transition with clarity and confidence defining a plan on your terms and in your own timeframe. You absolutely can regain the sparkle you need to make your career dreams come true and ensure there is NOPAUSE™ to your success. 

Ensure there is no pause to your leadership and business career through all stages of menopause with the NOPAUSE™ programme.  Exclusively for high performing, exec women, female founders and entrepreneurs.

Fiona McKay

Meet our founder
I'm Fiona McKay - The Menopause Career Coach™.

I'm an award-winning exec, business and career coach for high performing, high profile women and female founders who want to keep their careers and grow their companies as they move through all stages of menopause.

I am also a world renowned and award winning business strategist, transformation exec coach and keynote speaker.

And I'm a menopause campaigner, researcher, commentator, business influencer, award winning keynote speaker, conference chair and panel host, transformation expert and Top 250 Global Influencer in Fem Tech.

An evidence based menopause acceleration method that works!
Through my own experiences I have designed an evidence based and proven method, to help you maintain your career and continue to grow the divisions, departments or companies that you lead through all stages of menopause. But crucially, on your terms and in your own timeframe.

How do I help women in menopause globally?

Through my research and campaigning I'm on a mission to rid the world and the workplace of menopause bias for high performing working women, so they can increase their career health, improve their career wealth and keep their careers in menopause.

How can I help you?
I equip you with the transitions tools you need to have the career that you want on your terms and in your own timeframe, ensuring that there is no pause to your career as you move through menopause.

How can you work with me?
Book a 1-2-1 online career coaching session, become a member of my Menopause Maze community™, join my NOPAUSE ™ online group career coaching programme and book me to speak at events online, in the media and in print.

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